Tom Rice

I think we need to have a conversation about what the Federal role is.

I totally agree, you know, and I think one of the problems we suffer from here in this job as legislators is we think that we need to issue all these laws to protect people from things that just aren't real problems.

I am getting hundreds of calls in my office, and they are not about sequester; they are about Obamacare.

It seems like we are going to wring people dry.

The way I view this, really they are all taxes disguised because they are all the result of government action.

Taxes take away from that, correct?

I would like to thank you again for inviting me to testify on behalf of CFED.

I think our businesses can compete with anybody, but the government has got a noose of red tape around their neck.

I do not think anybody really knows the effect of that. People say they do but I do not think anybody really knows the effect.

We have been operating under a continuing resolution for years. We have not had a budget for years.

I think one of the biggest problems that businesses face is uncertainty.

I do not think there is anything more important than job creation and economic development and you are right at the heart of it.

I implore you, let's stop ruling these people to death, get off their backs and let them do their business.

I want to you stop that. I want to you change your mindset and start doing away with rules that are strangling our shipbuilding economy.

I want to be talking about 1,000 American-flagged ships.

We desperately need jobs. We desperately need industry.

I truly believe that our regulatory morass is strangling commerce in this country, and it will strangle our entire economy if we don't get it under control.

I think we need to have the number of rules going down every year.

It appears to me that with our excess of rules that we have choked off a valuable American industry in shipping.

You know, this just appears to me to be absolutely absurd.

I want to figure out what we have got to do to change it to make us competitive again.

I want our carriers so competitive that we don't pay them anything.

I absolutely agree with what Mr. McDermott said a minute ago, that the best thing we can do to resolve this situation is to provide jobs for people.

We need them to take risk if we are going to create these jobs and create this small business economy.

I have certainly seen the troubles that small businesses have with access to capital, and totally agree with you their primary source is the banks, and particularly small banks.